daf bit: Bava Batra 20

[cellio]

The mishna and g'mara have been discussing limitations on what you can and can't do to your neighbors, such as building a pit right next to the property line or pouring liquid on his wall. In today's daf the mishna teaches: if a man wants to open a shop in a shared courtyard, his neighbor can prevent him by saying that the noise of people coming and going will disturb his sleep. However, if the man wishes to make articles in the courtyard to take out and sell in the market, the neighbor has no valid complaint, even if his work makes noise (e.g. hammer blows). (21b)

The rabbis here seem not to be concerned about the noise itself so much as they are over what causes the noise. (We don't get the functional equivalent of a noise ordinance.) A note in the Soncino edition notes a preference for industry over trade.

Comments

[byronhaverford.livejournal.com]

It's not a noise ordinance; it's a zoning ordinance.

[cellio]

Sort of, but with zoning, once you've got the designation no one can object, but the default answer is "no" and you have to petition for variance. Here, the default seems to be "yes" except that any neighbor can shut down one class of activity. So I guess you're zoned for industry and the zoning board has no opinion on trade until someone complains.